Jodie Foster

On her father's side, she is descended from John Alden, who arrived in North America on the Mayflower in 1620.

Her parents' marriage ended before she was born, and she never established a relationship with her father.

She has three older full siblings: Lucinda, Constance, and Lucius, nicknamed "Buddy", as well as three half-brothers from her father's earlier marriage.

Following the divorce, Brandy raised the children with her female partner in Los Angeles.

She worked as a publicist for film producer Arthur P. Jacobs until focusing on managing the acting careers of Buddy and Jodie.

Although Foster was officially named Alicia, her siblings began calling her "Jodie", and the name stuck.

Foster was a gifted child who learned to read at age three.

She attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-language prep school.

Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films and she also dubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films.

Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker.

She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.

Alicia Christian Foster was born on November 19, 1962, in Los Angeles, the youngest child of Evelyn Ella "Brandy" (née Almond; 1928–2019) and Lucius Fisher Foster III, a wealthy businessman.

She is of German descent, with some Scots-Irish/Northern Irish heritage.

Foster's career began with an appearance in a Coppertone television advertisement in 1965, when she was three years old.

Her mother had intended only for Jodie's older brother Buddy to audition, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents.

The television spot led to more advertising work and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred.

In the following years, Foster continued working in advertising and appeared in over 50 television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time.

She had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969–1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film.

Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney.

After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who befriends a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion.

She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with scars on her back.

Foster began her professional career as a child model and later as a teen idol in various Disney films including Napoleon and Samantha (1972), Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977).

Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid".

Other early films include Tom Sawyer (1973), Bugsy Malone (1976), The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), Carny (1980) and Foxes (1980).

She acted in Martin Scorsese's comedy-drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and thriller Taxi Driver (1976).

For playing a teen prostitute in the latter, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

At her graduation in 1980, she delivered the valedictorian address for the school's French division.

She then attended Yale University, where she majored in African-American literature, wrote her thesis on Toni Morrison under the guidance of Henry Louis Gates Jr.., and graduated magna cum laude in 1985.

After attending Yale University, Foster transitioned into mature leading roles earning two Academy Awards for Best Actress for playing a rape victim in The Accused (1988) and Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

She has also directed episodes for Tales from the Darkside in 1988, House of Cards in 2014, the Black Mirror episode "Arkangel" in 2017, and Tales from the Loop in 2020.

Foster made her directorial film debut with Little Man Tate (1991) and has since directed films such as Home for the Holidays (1995), The Beaver (2011) and Money Monster (2016).

She founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, in 1992.

Her other notable films include Sommersby (1993), Maverick (1994), Contact (1997), Anna and the King (1999), Panic Room (2002), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), The Brave One (2007), Nim's Island (2008), Carnage (2011), Elysium (2013), The Mauritanian (2021), and Nyad (2023).

The last of these earned Foster her fifth Academy Award nomination.

In 2024, she starred in the HBO anthology series True Detective: Night Country.

She returned to Yale in 1993 to address the graduating class and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1997.

She also received a nomination for Nell (1994).

She earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for producing The Baby Dance (1999), and directing the Orange Is the New Black episode "Lesbian Request Denied" in 2014.

She has also earned numerous honors such as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2013 and the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2021.

In 2018, she was awarded the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award.